Huffington Post – 12/22/11

Whether we like it or not, African-American hair is still a hot topic.  The fascination, debate, discussion (or whatever you’d like to call it) around natural hair has spawned sororities, parades, national conferences and even reality shows. It’s a big topic and only getting bigger thanks to a new report…  CLICK HERE http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/22/natural-hair-becoming-mor_n_1165573.html?ref=black-voices#s568192&title=Tanika_Ray_80th

For the month of March I will be focusing on the “how to’s” for hair styling. Many women want to know how they can style their hair without having to pay a lot of money to have someone else do it. Although I believe you can’t do every hair style yourself (it’s really hard to see the back of your head) there are some styles you can do. I have searched around for the best video’s that give great close ups and instructions. I hope you will find these useful.

This week it’s all about flat twists. I found a great video by the expert of natural hair care stylist Pamela Ferrell. In this video, Pamela demonstrates how to make flat twists. This is a great instruction for a beginner or advanced hair stylist. It includes an overview of the basic tools, correct finger placement for a flat twist and individual twist.

Pamela has a successful business called Cornrows & Co where she helps hundreds of thousands of women, men, and children look good and feel good about their naturally soft, woolly, kinky, curly hair. She has written many books and her recent one is Let’s Talk Hair: Every Black Woman’s Personal Consultation for Healthy Growing Hair. Please visit her website at http://www.cornrowsandco.com/ for more information.

As declared from Tyra Banks, today is national natural hair day. So I just got finished watching the first episode of the Tyra Banks show where she reveals her natural hair. I really liked a couple of things she tried to explain about wearing weaves and wigs as options and not for everyday use. I think a lot of us can get caught up in thinking that we have to look like a celebrity everyday. Bu t hell, celebrities don’t look like celebrities every day. She had her hairdresser Oscar actually styling her hair on the show and he gave a couple of hair tips. One of them is if you want it to grow, let it go. Be free and let lose. That will do your hair a big favor.

She also had a few girls on the show who hated their natural hair. She decided to give them a hair make over. And to be honest, none of them liked it. The first girl said she didn’t like and was going back to weaves. The second girl said nothing, but you could tell on her face that she was not feeling it. And the third girl, seemed happy to let her natural curls show, but I have a felling she will be straightening her hair real soon.

I liked what Tyra is doing with her show. She reveals the real side of herself and informs people that celebrities go through a lot of hoops to look picture perfect. Tyra had Perez Hilton on her show and gave him a challenge and in return he can give her a challenge. If she asked me to challenge her, I would ask her to grow out the relaxer and not just wear her real hair, but her natural hair. This was this only misleading part of the show. Natural hair is without chemicals and she definitely had one. And I think that many black women don’t mind wearing their real hair, they just don’t want to wear their natural hair. Click on the show below and tell me what you think about the show.

Tyra Banks is letting her hair down, literally, on the 5th Season of the Tyra Banks Show. “This season on The Tyra Show we’re taking it to the next level and getting more real than ever before by encouraging women everywhere to own and rock what they’ve got and be proud! For the Season 5 premiere, I will be doing just that – no fake hair, I’m rocking my REAL hair. This will all be going down on September 8, 2009, which we’re declaring National Real Hair Day! We welcome everyone to go natural with me!”

This is not the first time Tyra has addressed issues with natural hair for African American women. Last season she had a show called “What is Good Hair?” that grew national attention. Tyra spoke with black women to investigate the effects their hair has on their self-esteem. It looks like she is trying to build more confidence and self esteem in African American women by coming on her show with her real hair. I think it is a great start and I look forward to watching it!

I decided to give Hairstyle of the Week to Ciara. She decided to take a break from the weaves and wigs and go natural at Maxim’s 10th Annual Hot 100 Celebration. And I think she looks fantastic. Of course this hairstyle is nothing new, but she brought back a look that was once seen only on the streets to the limelight. This is a testament that rocking natural hair won’t go out of style and that you can look good too!

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